The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats

Alright, folks. In the name of the moon... errr, I mean in the name of awesome books everywhere, I declare this week on “Never Gonna Grow Up! Reviews” to be YA HISTORICAL FICTION WEEK. Dun duh duh duuuuuun.

To kick off this week of fabulous locales, dangerous intrigue, and bloody deaths, we have J. Anderson Coats’ debut novel, “The Wicked and the Just”. I absolutely love this book. It’s a book I would definitely recommend any historical fiction addict add to the top of their list. J. Anderson Coats obviously did her research. The story takes place in Wales, shortly after the English taken over and are occupying the land. They have taken everything from the Welsh people and yet are taxing them literally to death. She tells the story from two strong-willed women’s perspectives. (Yay strong willed women!) On one hand, we have Cecily, who was uprooted from her English noble woman’s life and moved to occupied Wales by her father, who will help the English keep the “savage” Welshman in check. On the other hand, we have Gwenhwyfar, her servant, who once dreamed of being a lady herself until the English came in and took everything from her and her people, including the life of her father. Now, she and her brother must do whatever it takes to survive, even if it means waiting on a bratty English girl who makes life a living hell. While they both struggle with surviving in their own ways, tensions continue to mount not only between the girls, but the country as a whole. And let me warn you now, it gets messy.

My horrendous summary does not even begin to do this book justice. It’s subtle and beautifully written. It really feels like a slice of the life from this period in time. You can really feel the tension crackling in the air and it never gets bogged down with too much exposition. Ms. Coats’ explanations of unfamiliar terms are simple and feel naturally placed within the story. While it’s a bit intense to read all in one sitting, I still burned through it at a rapid pace. I just had to find out what happened! Both girls burn with unbridled passion that ends up fueling a very complex relationship between them. If they had a status on Facebook for their platonic relationship, it’d definitely say “It’s complicated.”

Seriously, if you like historical fiction, this book is an absolute MUST READ. And if you don’t? Well give it a try anyways. It’s good to try something new every once in awhile and I have a feeling that this is a book you’re going to hear people talking about for quite some time. :)

Want to hear J. Anderson Coats talk about her book? Well then, head on over to Authors are ROCKSTARS! to check out her podcast interview.

I received a digital ARC of "The Wicked and the Just" via NetGalley.com. It came out this month from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Go and purchase your own copy now!

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

“Born Wicked” by Jessica Spotswood is one fabulous debut novel. I *adored* it. It was full of delicious intrigue, yummy romances, and tantalizing magic. Obviously, I need to eat, but you better watch out “Born Wicked”. Sometimes, I eat books. Om nom nom. Delicious.

In this alternate version of New England, witches were in power until a few generations ago when a religious order called the Brotherhood massacred them. The survivors hid their magical inheritance from the world in order to avoid persecution. Cate and her sisters have continued that tradition, not even their father knows of their abilities (or that of his deceased wife). After a promise she made to her mother, she has dedicated her life to her sisters’ protection. They don’t always appreciate her hard work, but she is determined not to let her mother down. However, she only has six months left before the Brotherhood forces her into a marriage or a chaste religious life in the Sisterhood. After a mysterious letter and the discovery of her mom’s diary, things go from difficult to near impossible and Cate has to figure out a way to save those she loves the most from persecution and from each other.

This structure of this book is magnificent. If you’re a regular reader, you’ve heard me complain before about books that are all back story, very little plot with commercially designed (instead of story driven) cliffhangers. They drive me insane. It’s lazy writing in my opinion. Well, this book is the perfect example of cliffhanger perfection. It breaks your heart, but doesn’t leave wondering where the rest of the book went. Obviously, the overall story is far from finished, but this first installment wasn’t all back story. There was a lot going on and the action of the book had an ending that left you wanting more, but not feeling cheated. The world is well developed, the characters are real and fun, and the romance so lovely. It has so many elements that I love - witches, sisters (I have two younger sisters too!), mushy gushy romance, and dark & mysterious happenings.

GOLD star to Jessica Spotswood. I am dying to find out what happens next and am still feeling heartbroken for the sacrifice Cate had to make.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher (Penguin) to review. Jessica Spotswood will be joining us on our Road Trip Edition of the Breathless Reads panel at Passion & Prose. Click here for more Breathless Reads tour dates.

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

A.C. Gaughen’s “Scarlet” is a retelling of “Robin Hood” lore. In this version of the tale, Ms. Gaughen takes us to meet Robin’s band of merry men just a couple years after they joined forces. The sheriff is up to no good and of course, Robin and his gang are stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Ya know, the usual. The difference in this tale is that Will Scarlet or “Scar” to the boys is not exactly a “merry man”. No, he’s not sad. He just happens to be a she. A young woman haunted by her past, who trusts no one, not even Robin. And when the evil thief hunter, Gisbourne, arrives in Nottingham, she is forced to face her past head on.

This was just one of those books that I had been anxiously anticipating that fell flat and ultimately disappointed me. I was a big fan of the BBC’s Robin Hood (before the end of season 2. Ugh!), so I was really looking forward to this retelling. I was hoping for the fun, action packed stories of the legends of Robin Hood. And while there was action always present, it didn’t have that action-y feeling. I don’t now how to describe it. There was just some “umph” missing. It was exciting. I devoured it, but when I was done, I instantly thought “That was it?” The plot line just didn’t do it for me. It wasn’t enough. I absolutely loved her character development and the twist of having Will Scarlet be a girl, but the romance, the action, the bad guy (just a bad guy, no personality/back story other than he’s evil)... all left me wanting. It was the skeleton of an amazing story that just didn’t have enough flesh on its bones yet. My goodness, that is a grotesque description, but it’s the only way I can think of putting it!

I don’t want to be a complete “Negative Nancy” here though. I did devour this book and I think that there are many who will absolutely love it. It just fell short for me. One thing I must say though is that the author did an incredibly job developing a strong, flawed female heroine. You really get to know Scarlet and feel for her. It’s because of this wonderful, lush character building that I kept on reading. I really cared what happened to her and even though I didn’t care much for the plot in general, I finished the book and would be curious to find out what happens next.

So, give it a chance. Let me know what you think. :)

I received a digital ARC via Netgalley.com. This book is published by Walker Books for Young Readers (Bloomsbury). It is scheduled to be released on February 14th.

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Despite the buzz, I held off reading “Everneath” by Brodi Ashton because I’ve been a little burnt out lately. Don’t get me wrong, I *love* reading. However, I have picked up so many books in the last few months that I had been looking forward to that I ended up not being able to finish. It breaks my heart to put a book down only partially read. I know it is irrational and I shouldn’t waste my time reading things I don’t like, but I..feel...SO...guilty. But hey, I’ll get over it. Let’s move on to the topic at hand - Brodi Ashton’s debut novel “Everneath”.

“Everneath” is new story inspired by Underworld myths such as Persphone and Eurydice. Such an awkward way to put it, but it always seems that with these myth-inspired stories that there are reviewers who get all up in arms about it not being precise to its source material. I totally do not understand this. Anyways, I digress. At the beginning of the book, we meet Nikki Beckett (or Becks, which confused me for a bit. I missed reading her last name and thought for awhile there were two heroines. Whoopsy!). Nikki has just returned to our present day after spending a century in the Underworld, being fed upon by an Everliving, an immortal who feeds on human emotion. Though for Nikki an entire century has passed, back home only six months has gone by. They have been six long months for her loved ones. No one knows where she’s been, including her boyfriend, Jack, whose smiling face was the thought that saved her from shriveling up and becoming a shell of her former self in the Everneath. She’s returned to earth to reconnect to him, her father and to say goodbye because the Everneath will not let her go forever.

I really enjoyed this book. The one thing that really stood out to me about this one is how real the characters are. If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know how much I love this. I think it really shows true writing prowess and grace when you can seamlessly weave in real people within unusual circumstances. Ms. Ashton does this in such a powerful way. Her characters really stuck with me and I was proud of the choices Nikki made as she reclaimed her life and atoned for the pain she had caused others. Nikki was definitely flawed and was still very much a teen girl, but she also showed that she could learn from her mistakes. I’m not doing them justice, but I’ll just state again - so real. They are probably the most genuine real people characters I have ever encountered in an unnatural world.

This book took me a little while to get hooked, due the start being about Nikki’s quest to say her goodbyes and make amends before the Underworld reclaims her. Once you get to know Nikki and Jack, you won’t be able to put it down. I realize that my review totally leaves out Cole, the “Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.” (from Goodreads.com summary) To be honest, that description kind of blows him out of proportion. He does exist. He is handsome and charming... but the love triangle? It is pretty weak. Again though - so very realistic. I have NO problem with this. I just want to warn those of you who are Love Triangle-aholics... Lotriaholics? Trilovers? Triangerosophiles? Anyways, you know, those of you who love that, it’s not a big factor in this book. I adore them too, but they’re not necessary for every single romantic paranormal out there and I’m glad it doesn’t play that huge a part here.

This book is a solid, well-written and entertaining read from beginning to finish. I could not put it down! If you’re a bit burnt out on paranormals, I think this would be a perfect book for you to get picked up and get hooked all over again. And if you’re not burnt out on myth-inspired YA? Well then what are you waiting for!? Go read “Everneath” by Brodi Ashton today.

“Everneath” is published by Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins) and was released just last week. I received an ARC for review. This is Brodi Ashton's first novel.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Ahhh... finally, I got to read this book. I’ve had the ARC for awhile, but I was waiting until January 1st to start reading it so it would qualify for the 2012 Debut Author Challenge. I knew I was going to love it and boy, was I right.

“Under the Never Sky” is a dystopian with a very sci fi feel or is it a sci fi with dystopian scenery? Heck if I know, but whatever it is - it rocks. In this world, the Earth is falling apart and the land is being ravaged by these “aether storms” that tear apart the landscape and make it difficult to survive. Apparently, generations ago, a part of the population decided to leave the struggle and live in a giant dome structure that would protect them from the storms. To keep from going stir crazy in a confined, bland space, they use a virtual reality technology that keeps them hooked up together and able to go and do anything they want. Aria, our leading lady, finds out the hard way that this way of life can have complications though. When her mom goes missing, she knows she has to do whatever it takes to find her. Unfortunately, she messes with the wrong people and finds herself fighting for her survival in a world she’s only heard horror stories about and with a man, a wild man, who isn’t at all like she expected.

I really enjoyed this one... I don’t dish out 5 stars lightly on Goodreads.com, but I was tempted. This book meshes a lot of my favorite things - sci-fi, action, romance (and good ol’ slow building romance, not INSTA-LOVE), self-discovery, strong female character (who wasn’t INSTASTRONG either), dystopian setting (I love it when the stakes are ridiculously high!), etc. It’s sci fi though for people who wouldn’t necessarily love sci fi. I am trying desperately not to spoil you here, but there are different environments at play and not all of them are virtual, okay?

I know some other reviewers didn’t enjoy the romance aspect because it didn’t make them tingle, but I liked that. Not that I don’t like a good tingly romance, but sometimes, romance grounded in reality is a lot more enjoyable. Romance isn’t all anguish or passion with tingly, fiery intensity. (I am so into the word tingly today.) For a sci fi dystopian who’sawhat’sit, this book is so grounded in reality. I love that. Way to go, Ms. Rossi for making this book feel so real. It is so nice to feel instantly connected to characters and really feel for them when they’re going through this “out of this world” experience. To me, that’s a sign of an amazing writer.

Congratulations Ms. Rossi on your awesome debut. I cannot wait to see what you have for us in book 2!

I received a digital ARC from the publisher for review. This book was the first of many debuts I'll be reading this year as part of the Debut Author Challenge hosted by "The Story Siren". This book is published by HarperCollins and hit shelves this month. Pick up your copy today!